No. Schuylkill matmen top Raiders

Thursday, January 19, 2012

bob ford/times news Tamaqua's Steven Matukonis turns North Schuylkill's Lorenzo Fisher to his back for a first period pin in 1:35.

By ANDY STEINMETZ asteinmetz@tnonline.com

The Tamaqua wrestling team has been suffering through a season marred with adversity. Whether it is injuries, participants that have left the program mid-season, or any other reason, numbers have dropped and the Blue Raiders need all the points that they can get throughout the course of a match.

In last night's Schuylkill League battle with North Schuylkill, three straight forfeits began the meeting, placing the locals in a 18-0 hole right out of the gates.

Despite their efforts to erase the deficit, the Spartans pulled away down the stretch for a 51-30 decision.

"It has been a rough season this year with injuries, kids on the team that have quit, and so on," Tamaqua head coach Jim McCabe mentioned following the outcome. "It is an individual sport and a team sport at the same time and that's what we told the kids after the match."

The victorious Spartans benefitted from six Blue Raider forfeits for 36 of those 51 team points.

"We have been struggling as of late, this season," North Schuylkill head coach Dave Brown admitted, as well. "Right now, we are where we want to be, though, as we have filled 12 of the 14 weight classes."

That, simply, was the difference in this result, as they consistently would get team help from a lack of an opponent.

In the matches that were contested, Tamaqua held its own, as it got individual pins from Colin Mashack at 113, and Steven Matukonis at 126. The Raiders also got two forfeits to aid their cause and an injury default to produce the final score.

"At this point in the season, we have five weeks until districts," McCabe mentioned. "We need to maintain focus on what we are not doing well and not focus on the things we do well. We have that time frame to work on those things, so we're going to keep working hard."

With the win, North Schuylkill improves to 3-13, while Tamaqua drops to 3-8.